Taitung→Sun Moon Lake

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Taitung to Sun Moon Lake, HSR is expensive, slow, and has difficult taxi access. From the earliest departure at 05:50 to the latest at 22:55, there are up to 90 high-speed rail from Zuoying to Taichung each day. Assuming you depart from Taitung City, Taitung County and head to the nearest Zuoying HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$5,900 and take approximately 235 minutes. After arriving at the HSR station, the time to walk in, purchase tickets, and wait on the platform is about 20 minutes. Then, take a 42-69-minute (57 min on average) HSR ride from Zuoying Station to Taichung HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$790 per person, followed by a 10-minute walk to exit the station, wait for a ride at the taxi stand, and after a trip of about 70 minutes with a fare of NT$2,500, you will arrive at your destination at Sun Moon Lake (Yuchi Township, Nantou County). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 6 hours and 31 minutes. Assuming one person traveling alone, the total transportation cost is NT$9,190. However, in Taitung County, there are only just over 400 licensed taxis. The taxi density is 0.2% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area. In other words, hailing a taxi on the spot is 400 times more difficult than in a major city like Taipei. Even if you are lucky enough to hail a cab, a minority of taxi drivers in Taitung County may not use the meter, and might overcharge or take detours, especially with passengers who appear to be from out of town. In contrast, if you use Tripool for a door-to-door private car service, it will only cost NT$8,080, and the journey takes 6 hours and 17 minutes. Choosing the HSR over a private charter will not only cost at least an extra NT$1,110 in fares but also waste an additional 14 minutes on transfers and waiting. Book with Tripool now!

If you have a driver's license, do not mind driving yourself, and you do not need to use the travel time to rest in the car, there are about 10 rental car companies, such as 知本小客車租賃, 宏昇租賃, 台東小哥租賃, available in the Taitung City, Taitung County area. Typically, car rentals are billed by the day. A small sedan like a Toyota Corolla or Ford Fiesta costs around NT$1500 per day, while a 9-seater van like a Hyundai Staria or Volkswagen Caravelle starts at NT$4500 per day. Extra costs such as fuel (approx. NT$3/km), eTag tolls (approx. NT$1/km), roadside parking (approx. NT$40/hour), insurance, and potential fines are not included. Most rental agreements specify a daily mileage limit of 200-400 km, with surcharges ranging from NT$100 to NT$2,000 for exceeding it. Since the vast majority of rental companies do not offer one-way rentals, assuming you make a same-day round trip between Taitung (Taitung City) and Sun Moon Lake, the estimated cost for a sedan is NT$4600 or NT$7600 for a 9-seater van. This is, of course, cheaper than taking a taxi. If you plan to sightsee along the way to Sun Moon Lake, renting a car for the day is certainly convenient and affordable, but it means the driver will not get to relax or fully enjoy the trip. Moreover, the rental location may be some distance from your home/office/starting point, and you must adhere to their business hours for pickup and return. The rental process itself is tedious, often taking an extra 30 minutes for contracts and vehicle inspection. You may even need to refuel the car yourself before returning. If you encounter a dishonest operator, you risk being hit with various unjustified charges upon return.

If you choose to take a taxi directly, in the Taitung County area, you can use apps to hail a cab from 55688 Taiwan Taxi, and if you cannot hail a cab on the street, you can also consider calling taxi fleets, such as 新城計程汽車行, 一桐計程車, 台東縣大台東計程車 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$7,685 and 11,500, but you could save up to NT$3,400 by booking with Tripool instead. But if you cannot book in advance or prefer to hail a cab on the spot, be aware that in the whole Taitung County, there are only about 350 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 0.2% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, meaning it is 400 times more difficult to hail a cab on the spot compared to Taipei or New Taipei. If you plan to make a return trip on the same or next day, be aware that taxis are even harder to find in Sun Moon Lake (in the Nantou County area), as Nantou County has only about 342 taxis. It is recommended to plan ahead. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Taitung County flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 47% of them will try to negotiate the fare on the spot—often asking far above the standard rate. If you’re not familiar with local pricing, you are an easy target. To avoid getting ripped off, it is strongly advised to book online in advance. Considering all factors, Tripool is your best choice for traveling from Taitung to Sun Moon Lake in terms of both price and service quality.

Tripool provides private day tours and charter services all around the island, including Sun Moon Lake and Taitung. Tourists are welcome to choose from point-to-point transportation service to 2~12 hours private trip service. The price is 100% transparent without any hidden fee. What you see on the website/app is the actual price. There is no need to email us or even make a phone call to verify. The full-day service price may not be lower than other providers. But if you only need a few hours or just a one-way transfer service, we can guarantee that our price is the most competitive in the market and tripool is the best choice. We offer 5-seater sedans, SUVs, and 9-seater vans. If your group is more than 9, we can arrange a bigger bus for you.

According to the law in Taiwan, all passengers have to fasten seat belts, no matter what ages they are. For a baby below 4-year-old or a young child who cannot comfortably be on the seat with a seat belt, it is necessary to use a car seat or a safety booster. There is a check box for renting a baby car seat or a child safety booster on the check-out page. Each rental fee is NT$300. If you need multiple car seats/boosters or you need an infant car seat, please check with our online customer service first. Tripool encourages parents to bring their car seats and boosters, and, of course, it is free of charge.

There are many gypsy cabs or illegal taxis in Line and Facebook groups. Their fares are cheap but with many risks. If the cabs are pulled over by polices, passengers cannot continue the trip. If there is an accident, none of the insurance companies will settle a claim. Worst of all, illegal drivers may conduct crimes without any trace. Don't put your life at risk for just saving a few bucks. On the other hand, tripool contracts with legal drivers without any criminal record. All vehicles provide up to $5 million in insurance. The easiest way to distinguish a legal vehicle is the car plate number. Unless the initial character of the car plate number is either T or R, the car is 100% illegal for taxi service.

Tripool will send a receipt through the third-party system one week after the ride. If passengers need to claim reimbursement for travel expenses, there is a blank to fill with the company's title and tax ID. It's legal, and there is no extra 5% for the receipt. Once the receipt is received via email, it can be printed out for reimbursement or saved as a PDF.

Fewer travelers book hotels through traditional travel agents, and most go through OTAs (online travel agents). It is easy to filter areas, prices, types of rooms, special needs on OTAs' websites. Still, customers can also get a 20~40% discount compared to hotels' official websites. The most popular OTAs in Taiwan are Booking.com, Agoda.com, Hotels.com, Expedia.com, and Trip.com. In general, travelers can make reservations on websites or apps. Once finishing the online payment, everything is set, and there is not necessary to double-check the reservation by phone. However, some hotels may oversell their rooms on multiple platforms. To avoid being rejected by hotels once you arrive, choose high-rated hotels with more reviews online or make a phone call to hotels to confirm again. For B&Bs (also called minsus), locals prefer to book rooms through B&Bs' websites or contact the hosts directly. Sometimes, the price is better than OTAs. The downside is that their websites don't accept foreign credit cards or guests have to do wire transfers. If you want to save all these troubles and find decent B&Bs, Airbnb and AsiaYo (a local brand) are the best alternatives.